A day trip to Philadelphia for one of the largest Flower Shows!

A day before the trip, Eliana wrote this little gem on her notebook or should I say typed it, and asked me to copy and paste it on the blog:

“Tomorrow I’m going to Philadelphia. I’m going to see a flower show and I hope its going to be fun. I will see all the beautiful flowers. It is going to be my first time there. I’m excited for the flower show. From Eli.”

Then after the trip, she wrote this, as a matter of fact almost as soon as she got back home, like a pro blogger 😉 while the memory is still fresh:

“Today is march 10 and I went to Philadelphia and I went to the flower show. There was a lot of flowers and guess what the bus ride was sooooo long but it was only 2 hours. So then after the flower show…we went to the Liberty Bell and then we went to a market, Reading Terminal to eat French Fries. After that we took the bus to come back to New York and that’s all. From Eli.”

So, if you didn’t know before (I actually didn’t know until this year), every year starting in 1829 Philadelphia hosts North America’s largest Flower show in the smack dab of middle of winter. Apparently, it always falls in the middle of some major S–t weather condition, and keeping with tradition this year was no exception. The good thing is, this show still perseveres and gets TONS of visitors. I can attest to that fact that it does get whole lotta visitors as it was PACKED yesterday! And it’s ending today.

And why I didn’t find out about this event before all these years??? Only God knows.

We live in NYC, so, making a trip out to Philly is not that hard. As a matter of fact, it’s a day-trip kind of trip and does not require overnight stay and the added cost. All we needed was bus tickets, which seems like prices have gone down over the years. Or may be I am daydreaming since last time I went to Philly was 8 years ago.

It’s held inside the Philadelphia Convention Center, which is a stone’s throw away from the bus station. Weather was pretty chili yesterday, so, was very glad didn’t have to walk miles and miles. You can buy ticket just for the show, or with other add ons which includes live butterflies, tea in the garden, making crafts etc etc. We got the basic flower show ticket only.

Tip: Buy ticket online, which is cheaper than on location. At the box office, adult price was $40.00 (on the weekend) $35.00 (weekdays)-child $20.00/$19.00, Vs. online adult price was $29.95 and child $17.00 – That’s $10 savings for us just on adult ticket!

We got there around 11.45-ish and left around 2.30-ish. I could have stayed longer but that’s the life with a child. It was PACKED. I LOVE it when there is a huge crowd to see flowers! My faith in humanity gets renewed. I saw babies from few days old to elderly who could barely walk and needed family member’s aid in walking, all to see these flowers!! It was lovely.

Without further ado, here are the pictures of the Flower Show, every year they have a theme, this year was Wonders of Water. To learn more about it, you can click here.

Now pictures!

Does this remind you of water?

How about this gorgeous woodland decorations?

Would I go back next year? You bet! It was such a relief from the dead winter to go see some gorgeous flowers and Greens, on top a day trip to Philly just was the cherry on top. It may sound like I do day trips every other week to Philly, on the contrary in last 10 years this was my second trip! It IS a super easy trip to make from NYC but there are only so many weekends!

I actually did a bit digging to find out what news outlet had to say about this event, and found this:

“This year’s flower show, Wonders of Water, really was just a big success creatively. We had great amounts of people coming in every day despite two Nor’easters,” said Kevin Feeley with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. He says they’re already looking ahead to next show, which has a theme of Flower Power, focusing on the role flowers and plants play in our lives. Kevin says next year’s show will also play host to the 2019 Florists’ Transworld Delivery World Cup, the most prestigious floral design competition in the world. The theme of this year’s show, Wonders of Water, provides inspiration for those gardeners who have always wanted to add a water feature to their garden and for those who want to conserve water as well.”

Flower show or not, if you are in NYC, making a trip to this historical place (I actually Googled to see if I am using the right word…historical as opposed to historic, Google said historical 😉 ) should be high on the list. And since this can be done as a day trip, I really recommend going to Philadelphia at least once! You have to check out the Liberty Bell! And the Masonic Temple, and the Art Museum and the Magic Garden…and and and Philadelphia…and in winter time Flower Show!!! 😉 I can’t wait to go back when weather is warmer, this is such a fun place for kids, too! So much to do, see and learn!

How to get there from NYC: By bus would be my first choice! Buy ticket on line, one way cost about $11-14. Just go to Port Authority Bus station with your E-ticket or printed (42 Street, the same station for Times Square), and hop on the bus, it takes about 2 hours! And the bus station in Philly is in a compact area of the city, right in Chinatown, close to Reading Terminal Market, 15 minutes walk to Historical area. Most sightseeing can be done by walking!

Have you been to Philadelphia? If so, feel free to recommend things to see (the off the beaten path stuffs!), places to eat, would love to hear from you. If you haven’t been there, hope someday you would make it!

And here is Eliana’s video on being a travel show host 😉 If you like the video (at least attempt to watch 😉 ) “smash” that “Like” button…as Eliana said…she learned that word from another Youtuber!

I actually heard the “it” measuring is now looking for reactions more than likes, you might want to research and see if it holds true. Those flowers are beautiful! I love them all although my favorite would be all the ones with water pouring down like the first one.

Wow, I did not know about this flower show, but it looks like an amazing respite from crummy March weather! Thanks for sharing. I went to Philly many years ago for a conference, but I didn’t get to see a lot. I did have a cheese steak, though. 🙂

This is a great day trip to see the Flower Show. So many colourful and vibrant flowers and love the different pieces there. I adore the woodland decorations! I’ve never visited Philadelphia but hope to one day. Have you been to the Keukenhof in the Netherlands? Will definitely add the Flower Show to the list when in NYC.

I love flower shows. This one in Philadelphia sounds and looks really nice. I would like to go there. We have it in our country too. In May every year. I have a habit to visit two of them, one in capital of Croatia – Zagreb and another one a little bit on a side in Sisak. Wonderful post, I need to share it with my mom. We had a thousands of flowers in our home and in the garden. She’s gonna love it.

Thanks for sharing your pictures. I work for an organization that was associated with one of the exhibits. (The one with all the tubes hanging from the ceiling). I was actually working the event on the same day that you were there. You probably walked right by me at the exhibit. Anyway, I really enjoyed looking at your pictures since I didn’t get much time to walk around and see everything. Great review!

Going to this show would immediately transport your mind somewhere warmer. You would instantly think you are in a tropical paradise, not somewhere cold. What a nice break from the harsh winter! I can see why this is so popular. I love any water feature and the very first one you showed was beautiful.

Wow!! The exhibits are amazing! They probably have kept the same time each year despite the inclement weather because so many love to see the greenery of these beautiful plants. I grew up on the West Coast and this reminds me of the of the Pasadena floats in the Rose Parade. It is inspiring! Evelyn, PathofPresence

I live like 3 hrs from Philly. I’m in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. I had no idea this was even going on. (Not shocking though, there is SO much going on around me at any given time LOL!!) I love your pics!

OMG! I didn’t even know FLOWER SHOWS were a thing! I can only imagine the people who put these flowers on display. THEY LIVE FOR THEIR FLOWERS. I can see a movie or documentary about this coming to Netflix soon LOL!

Okay, I have to admit that I’m not a big fan of flowers. But judging by your photos, this convention looks absolutely stunning! You’ll have to go back and check out some of the other great things in Philly some time!

I have a friend who has lived in Philadelphia for about 10 years. She is absolutely in love with Philly. Somehow she never mentioned the flower show, but after reading your post I am eager to ask her about it! Oh, yes, she loves flowers. Like me, of course. 🙂

It’s always a pleasure to read about Eliana and her adventures. Loved the theme of the show. We also have a water garden and although it’s very peaceful out there, it doesn’t really help in conserving water. Will work on that now. Also thanks for the tip about online tickets being cheaper. For all of us who live to travel we must avail of such deals.

Its a great trip in Philadelphia, This is a unique idea to explore this flower shows. I do not have knowledge about this. I enjoyed to saw your video. If I visit Pennsylvania, never miss exploring the largest city Philadelphia. Thanks. 🙂